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Domestic Violence: Family Law Attorneys Can Get Caught in the Crossfire
Domestic violence probably impacts at least a few, if not several, of the clients you assist each year. In this issue, we focus on some of the problems endemic to domestic violence: the plight of the victim when police protection is inadequate; the consequences to the perpetrator when Family Court issues impact on Criminal Court proceedings, and vice versa; and what can happen to attorneys who get swept up in their clients' problems to become potential victims of violence themselves.
One of the most dangerous fields of practice for attorneys — second, perhaps, only to criminal prosecution — is family law. Many attorneys are drawn to the specialty by a desire to help families in times of interpersonal crisis, but they often become the focus of their clients' spouses' (or even their own client's) frustrations in the process. Issues of lost love, betrayal, economic solvency and child custody can bring out the worst in even the most mild-mannered of people. When one of the spouses involved has a history of violence or other abusive behavior, the risk to the attorney is even higher.
A recent case in Connecticut illustrates the dangers. A man in the midst of divorce proceedings went to the courthouse in Middletown, CT, where a hearing in his case was scheduled to take place. There he shot his wife and her attorney as they sat in a parked car. The attacker then turned the gun on himself and later died while in the hospital. Ironically, the enraged husband was a retired state trooper, employed at the time of the murder/suicide as a security guard at the Federal District Court in Hartford. He had a history of making threatening comments to his wife, according to court filings, but he was not known in the community as a violent or intimidating person. On the contrary, he was well respected enough to have been elected to serve in public office in his community. His divorce, which involved bitter disputes over child custody issues, apparently sent him “over the edge.”
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?